Mike Pompeo
Mike Pompeo is named in 15 events across the Capture Cascade Timeline, from 2017 to 2021.
Quick facts
- Full name: Michael Richard Pompeo
- Born: December 30, 1963, Orange, California
- Education: U.S. Military Academy at West Point (graduated first in his class, 1986); Harvard Law School (J.D., 1994)
- Distinction: First person to serve as both CIA Director and Secretary of State
- Koch ties: Nicknamed “the Congressman from Koch”; Koch Industries was his top lifetime campaign contributor at $375,500 (per The Nation/Quartz, 2018) and held a roughly 20% stake in his first company, Thayer Aerospace
Key positions
| Position | Term |
|---|---|
| U.S. Representative, Kansas 4th District | 2011-2017 |
| CIA Director | January 23, 2017 - April 26, 2018 |
| Secretary of State (70th) | April 26, 2018 - January 20, 2021 |
Biography
Michael Richard Pompeo was born December 30, 1963, in Orange, California. He graduated first in his class from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986 — under the cadet motto “You will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do” — served five years as a cavalry officer, and earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1994. He then moved to Wichita, Kansas, where in 1996 he co-founded Thayer Aerospace with venture funding that included a roughly 20% investment from Koch Industries. After selling his interest in 2006, he became president of Sentry International, an oilfield-equipment manufacturer that was also a Koch Industries partner.
Elected to the U.S. House in 2010, Pompeo earned the nickname “the Congressman from Koch.” Koch Industries was his top lifetime campaign contributor at $375,500 (per The Nation/Quartz, 2018), and reporting identified him as the company’s leading recipient of funds during his House years. In Congress he pushed legislation to curb oil and gas regulation and end renewable-energy tax breaks, and hired Koch Industries lawyer Mark Chenoweth as his chief of staff. The Senate confirmed him as CIA Director 66-32 on January 23, 2017. At Texas A&M University on April 15, 2019, he said of his time running the agency, “I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole” — remarks the State Department published in an official transcript.
After Trump fired Rex Tillerson, Pompeo was sworn in as the 70th Secretary of State on April 26, 2018, becoming the first person to hold both that office and the CIA directorship. He ran “maximum pressure” sanctions campaigns against Iran and Venezuela and, in May 2019, invoked an emergency declaration to bypass congressional review and fast-track roughly $8 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan; four sources told CNN that he pushed State Department officials to “reverse-engineer” a justification for a decision he had already made. He was unusually open about discussing Christianity and foreign policy together, and the State Department created its first employees’ faith group during his tenure.
In May 2020, Pompeo recommended that Trump fire State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, who was then investigating both the emergency Saudi arms sale and allegations that Pompeo had a staffer perform personal errands, including walking his dog and picking up dry cleaning. Pompeo said he had not known he was under investigation when he recommended the removal but declined to be interviewed by the IG’s office; congressional Democrats opened inquiries into possible retaliation. After leaving office on January 20, 2021, he launched the Champion American Values PAC (CAVPAC) in June 2021 ahead of a possible 2024 presidential run, then announced in April 2023 that he would not run.
Sources
- “Mike Pompeo” — Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pompeo
- “Mike Pompeo Fast Facts” — CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/21/us/mike-pompeo-fast-facts/index.html
- “Mike Pompeo” — SourceWatch. https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Mike_Pompeo
- “Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo owes his political career to the Koch brothers” — Quartz. https://qz.com/1227882/secretary-of-state-nominee-mike-pompeo-owes-his-political-career-to-the-koch-brothers
- “The Koch Brothers Get Their Very Own Secretary of State” — The Nation. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/the-koch-brothers-get-their-very-own-secretary-of-state/
- “5 faith facts about Mike Pompeo: A divisive devotion” — Religion News Service. https://religionnews.com/2018/04/19/5-faith-facts-about-mike-pompeo-a-divisive-devotion/